New for print and packaging: AI & Automation Practitioner apprenticeship

New programme in development

We’re developing a Level 4 AI & Automation Practitioner apprenticeship built around print and packaging, and we’re inviting employers to register their interest in a first pilot cohort.

Print and packaging businesses are under pressure from tight margins, rising costs and shorter lead times, and an ageing workforce means years of hard-won know-how could walk out of the door with the people who hold it. Meanwhile, the same job details still get typed into email, the MIS, a spreadsheet and the job bag.

AI and automation tools can take on much of that routine work. Knowing which tools to use, where to use them, and how to bring the team with you is the harder part. That is what this apprenticeship develops.

We are building the Level 4 AI & Automation Practitioner apprenticeship around our industry, with examples drawn from real print and packaging operations:

• faster, more accurate estimating and quoting
• automated artwork and prepress checks
• smarter production scheduling, and less waste
• automatic job status updates for customers
• capturing the knowledge of experienced operators and engineers in a searchable hub before they retire

It suits people who already know how your business works and want to improve it, from estimators and customer service coordinators to prepress technicians, planners, engineers and improvement leads. No IT or programming background is needed.

Read the full programme details →

Register your interest

We are developing the programme now and exploring the best way to deliver it, including working with specialist partners. We are inviting employers to register their interest in a first pilot cohort, which we are aiming to start in February 2027.

Registering does not commit you to anything. It tells us the demand is there, it means you hear first when dates are confirmed, and it gives you a say in how the programme is shaped around the problems you face.